Sam Mendes

Because of his highly technical and visual theater productions in London and on Broadway, Sam Mendes made a smooth transition to film with "American Beauty" (1999), which earned him an Academy Award f...
Read More...

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /media/www/hollywood/Web/releases/20150325105258/vendor/doctrine/common/lib/Doctrine/Common/Annotations/FileCacheReader.php on line 202
Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /media/www/hollywood/Web/releases/20150325105258/vendor/doctrine/common/lib/Doctrine/Common/Annotations/FileCacheReader.php on line 202
Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /media/www/hollywood/Web/releases/20150325105258/vendor/doctrine/common/lib/Doctrine/Common/Annotations/FileCacheReader.php on line 202
Leonard Cohen and The Weeknd win top trophies at Juno Awards

By:
WENN.com
Mar 15, 2015

Veteran musician Leonard Cohen and R&B star The Weeknd took home the Juno Awards' biggest honours during Canada's music prizegiving on Sunday (15Mar15). Singer/songwriter Cohen nabbed the Album of the Year award for Popular Problems, while The Weeknd picked up the Artist of the Year title at the ceremony, which took place at Hamilton, Ontario's FirstOntario Centre.
The win was the second prize for the R&B star, who claimed the R&B/Soul Recording of the Year for his hit Often during Saturday's (14Mar15) gala for various album and technical awards.
However it was dance star Kiesza who took home the most Junos this year (15) - she added Breakthrough Artist of the Year to her Saturday night honours for Dance Recording of the Year for Sound of a Woman and Video of the Year for Hideaway.
Double winners Magic! were named Breakthrough Group of the Year and also picked up Single of the Year honours for Rude, while Arkells were crowned Group of the Year and picked up the Rock Album of the Year prize for High Noon.
Michael Buble was given the coveted Fan Choice Award, marking his 12th career Juno Award, and Alanis Morissette was inducted into the 2015 Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
The Ironic singer closed the ceremony with a medley of hits from her Grammy Award-winning album Jagged Little Pill, which was released 20 years ago.
Also taking the stage to perform were winners Kiesza, Arkells, Magic! and The Weeknd, as well as Deadmau5, Shawn Mendes, Sam Roberts Band, and Hedley, whose lead singer Jacob Hoggard hosted the ceremony.

Director Sam Mendes has assured fans work on new Bond movie Spectre is going well by sharing fresh footage following news the shoot has been marred by another injury to star Daniel Craig. The next installment in the 007 franchise is currently filming in Europe, but the shoot has been plagued by a number of onset injuries in recent weeks.
British actor Craig suffered a bump to the head while filming a car chase scene in Rome, Italy on Monday (23Feb15) just weeks after he hurt his knee onset in Austria, while assistant director Terry Madden suffered multiple leg fractures in an accident with a runaway camera truck.
Mendes has now reached out to fans in the aftermath of Craig's latest injury news, sharing footage of the most recent location shoots and even revealing details of the plot.
In a video posted on 007.com, the director explains the film will unravel the mystery of Bond's childhood, and he also added clips of a dramatic shoot-out and a car chase that was filmed earlier this month (Feb15).

French actress Lea Seydoux ruined her first audition for the new James Bond movie after downing a beer to steady her nerves. Seydoux is set to play Bond girl Madeleine Swann opposite Daniel Craig in his latest 007 installment, Spectre, but she almost missed out on the opportunity after fluffing her lines in front of producers at her try-out.
She tells Britain's Event magazine, "The first audition took place at a hotel in Paris. I joined the three other contenders in line. We were there to read lines from Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace... I arrived very early and I was nervous so I drank a little beer to relax myself. When it was time for my audition, my face was bright red and I forgot my lines. It wasn't a success. In fact it was a failure. That made me very sad but I asked if I could audition a second time."
Seydoux sailed through her second audition and was later given the good news over lunch in London with director Sam Mendes.
She adds, "After that (the second audition), they asked if I could meet Sam Mendes at his office in London. I think he really liked me. He said he'd think about it. I waited for a few months. Then, in April 2014, I had lunch with Sam in London. He told me I was part of the film."

Producers behind West End musical Charlie And The Chocolate Factory have changed the show's script after an audience member complained about a scene which mentions diabetes. Sam Mendes' London stage show, based on the 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl, features a scene in which one of the characters suggests eating too much chocolate can cause the insulin-related disorder.
Nathalie Bristow lodged an official complaint after seeing the show with her eight-year-old daughter, who suffers from type one
diabetes which is not linked to lifestyle factors, and show bosses have now agreed to remove the offending line.
Producer Caro Newling says, "I am so sorry that it had such a negative effect. That was never the intention and it was meant to be entirely humorous... But why upset anyone when you don't have to? As a result, we have amended the script to drop the reference to diabetes and have replaced it with an alternative comment."
Michael Connellan, of diabetes charity JDRF, adds, "It's frustrating when differences between type one and type two are ignored in references to 'diabetes'. Greater recognition of the differences between them is something that JDRF constantly strives for... Thank you to Caro Newling. It is important that others continue to follow suit."

Daniel Craig turned heads in London on Monday (12Dec14) when he was spotted careering down London's River Thames on a high-powered speed boat as he filmed scenes for the new James Bond movie. The actor has reunited with Skyfall director Sam Mendes for the latest installment in the spy franchise, Spectre, which began filming this month (Dec14).
Craig has now been spotted back in his role as Bond, sailing along London's River Thames as he filmed scenes on a speed boat.
In WENN pictures, the actor was seen braving the winter weather and spray from the water in a black suit as he stood next to fellow actor Rory Kinnear, who plays secret service mogul Bill Tanner in the film. The boat was also seen whizzing past the real life MI5 headquarters on the banks of the Thames.
Spectre is due for release in 2015.

Five cars set to be used in the upcoming James Bond film Spectre were reportedly stolen during a raid on a motor manufacturing building in Germany in October (14). Thieves took five Range Rover Sport vehicles, which had been modified for the movie, from the Rover headquarters in Neuss, Germany.
The cars, which were due to be transported to the Alps for filming, were estimated to be worth a total of $990,000 (£619,000).
Officials at Jaguar Land Rover in Germany and the U.K. confirmed the incident. The culprits also stole four other cars during the raid.
Filming for the next 007 blockbuster began on Monday (begs08Dec14), with Daniel Craig returning as the superspy and Skyfall director Sam Mendes back behind the camera.

James Bond star Daniel Craig and director Sam Mendes have promised fans the next 007 movie Spectre will be even better than their box office smash Skyfall.
Mendes unveiled the 24th installment in the franchise on Thursday (04Dec14) and its title, referring to arch villain Blofeld's sinister terrorist organisation, has sparked speculation of a return to the popular plotline of the early movies. The director has now revealed that Spectre picks up the narrative two years on from Skyfall and he insists the script is so good that he changed his mind about not returning to the franchise.
Mendes says, "I changed my mind because of the script and the story, and I felt a connection to the characters that we created in the last movie, and I felt that there was another story to tell, maybe a story I wanted to finish that was begun in the last movie, which is not to say that this is the same story but it's the same characters two years on."
Craig, who will be starring in his fourth Bond film, adds, "We have Sam directing it again, some of the same great cast, and I believe we have got a better script than last time, so here we go!"
Spectre will feature a return for Skyfall stars including Ben Whishaw as gadget-master Q and Ralph Fiennes as 007's newly-installed boss M, as well as roles for Christoph Waltz, David Bautista, and Andrew Scott. Monica Bellucci and Lea Seydoux will feature as Bond girls.

Movie superspy James Bond looks set to face his old enemy Spectre and its villainous boss Blofeld in the upcoming 24th installment in the franchise. Six of the early 007 movies in the 1960s and '70s featured Bond doing battle with the sinister organisation bent on destroying espionage and provoking war between East and West before Blofeld was apparently killed off in 1981's For Your Eyes Only.
However, director Sam Mendes announced on Thursday (04Dec14) that the next film in the series, due for release on 06 November (15), will be titled Spectre, sparking fevered speculation he is to revisit the popular plotline.
Joining 007 actor Daniel Craig onscreen will be Christoph Waltz, David Bautista, and Andrew Scott, and the spy will also be flanked by two new Bond girls, played by Monica Bellucci and Lea Seydoux.
Mendes says, "The title of the 24th Bond movie is Spectre. Those of you who have some knowledge of the Bond franchise and the legend of Bond will probably have some idea what that refers to but I couldn't possibly comment..."
Filming for Spectre will begin next week (begs08Dec14).

Daniel Craig is heading to Italy to film key scenes for the next installment of the James Bond franchise in Rome next year (15), according to local reports. The British actor will reprise his role as the spy when shooting begins at Shepperton studios outside of London in the coming weeks before filming moves to the Italian capital.
Local news agency ANSA reports several high-speed car chases will be filmed through the city's narrow streets, a busy shopping district and on a main road near the Vatican.
Filming will also reportedly take place at the Royal Palace of Caserta in the southern Italian region of Campania.
The Italy shoot will reportedly run from 19 February (15) to 12 March (15).
Sam Mendes will return to direct the 24th film, which is scheduled for U.K. release next year (15).

Actor Christoph Waltz has reportedly been cast to play the villain in the upcoming James Bond film. The Oscar winner is joining the action movie as the nemesis of Daniel Craig's 007 in the as-yet-untitled, 24th installment of the blockbuster franchise, according to the U.K.'s Daily Mail.
If Waltz does sign on as the iconic spy's foe, he will join new franchise regulars Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, and Ben Whishaw, who will all be reprising their roles from 2012's Skyfall.
Director Sam Mendes will helm Bond 24, which is slated to hit cinemas next autumn (15).

Returned to feature-directing with the Bond film "Skyfall," starring Daniel Craig

Announced plans to leave position as artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse in December of 2002

Summary

Because of his highly technical and visual theater productions in London and on Broadway, Sam Mendes made a smooth transition to film with "American Beauty" (1999), which earned him an Academy Award for his directing debut. Previous to his Oscar triumph, Mendes enjoyed a long and very successful career in theater, directing acclaimed and visually stunning productions of William Shakespeare's "The Tempest," Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie," and Lionel Bart's popular musical "Oliver!" But it was his 1998 revival of "Cabaret" that attracted the attention of Hollywood - specifically Mendes fan Steven Spielberg, which led to the stage veteran directing his first feature. Following a few aborted film efforts and a triumphant return to theatre, Mendes returned to celluloid with the elaborate, lavish and strangely disconnected "Road to Perdition" (2002), which displayed some of the promise of his sterling debut, but ultimately failed to warm many hearts. Nonetheless, he maintained a steady output on stage and on screen, directing the underappreciated "Jarhead" (2005) and his return to cinematic form, "Revolutionary Road" (2008), which starred then-wife, Kate Winslet. Mendes took a huge commercial leap forward as the director of the 23rd James Bond film, "Skyfall" (2012), which was widely hailed as one of the best of the series, while confirming his status as an intelligent and deliberate filmmaker capable of crafting deeply resonant films.

Began dating 2001; Married May, 24, 2003 in the Caribbean; Announced separation March 2010; Reportedly divorced c. 2011-12

Education

Name

University of Cambridge

Magdalen College School

Notes

"If you shout in the theater, people think you've gone a bit mad. But if you raise your voice on a film set, people just work a bit harder." – Mendes quoted in Premiere magazine, September 1999

"Confidence is the key when it comes to directing," says Mendes. "To some degree, it's a con trick. There's always a part of you that doubts some part of what you're doing, but it's crucial that that's not available to the people you're working with." – from The London Times, Feb. 20, 2000

In June 2000, Mendes was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Mendes was originally booked on the ill-fated American Airlines flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon during the terrorist attacks that day. Due to a scheduling conflict, he was luckily bumped to another flight out of Washington.

"To me all great movies have tension. You pull a wire tight at the beginning of a film and you don't release it." – Mendes to Premiere magazine, August 2002